Asia suffers chaos as rains cause widespread flooding

Philippines, China, Russia and Pakistan have all been forced to evacuate
people as torrential downpours caused rivers to overflow, sweeping away
buildings and submerging cars.

3:56PM BST 19 Aug 2013

Torrential rains brought the Philippinecapital, Manila, to a standstill making streets impassable to vehicles while thousands of people across coastal and mountainous northern regions moved to emergency shelters.

Schools, offices, the stock exchange, courts and embassies were closed as the weather bureau placed metropolitan Manila on red alert. The national disaster agency and local officials reported at least two dead and several missing.

In Russia, the Emergency Situations Ministry said that the evacuations are underway in three Far East regions, some 3,100 miles east of Moscow in the wake of floods.

Some of the evacuees have moved into emergency shelters. Authorities estimate that another 14,000 people are also affected.

Pakistan's south Punjab region was put on high alert after water levels of the rivers Ravi and Chenab rose further at the weekend.